[Kevin]

How would you expect the team to have known about this? Do you actually expect the NCAA compliance department to go and verify all timecards for all scholarship players at OU to make sure that athletes aren't clocking in while we know they're in class/practice?

As for the "cheating" allegation, that's a very misleading word. Cheating usually means that you're gaining some unfair advantage on the field. Correct me if I'm wrong, but these guys were already committed to play at OU when they showed up for work at Big Red, right? So how, exactly did this affect the product on the field? Not at all.

Cheating goes on everywhere. I know guys who have played at various schools. They *ALL* talk about how well their boosters take really, really good care of them... no need to go into specifics, pretty much everyone admits that this stuff goes on everywhere.

Despite what you just posted, which may or may not be how this story broke, Oklahoma did in fact initiate its own investigation once this was problem was brought to their attention. Oklahoma did in fact gather information pertaining to the allegations and verify facts in connection therewith. They then took severe action by dismissing a starting OL and the starting QB -- an action which very likely cost the conference and school millions of dollars in bowl money and merchandise. They then self-imposed all of the other penalties Paul Dee of Miami mentioned in the official sanction report but the change in the record books.

As far as compliance, self-reporting, etc. go, this far trumps the cooperation level the Aggies exhibited in the early 90's/late 80's. Your coaches were directly involved for chrissakes... and I don't recall them being particularly compliant with the NCAA.

Could Oklahoma have covered this up? Oh absolutely. Your message board poster had paychecks. Those were only part of the story. They may have seemed large, but in itself, that proves nothing. He didn't have timecards and he had no way to obtain them (other than theft of company records). klahoma could have instructed Big Red to destroy those time cards, they could have covered everything up, and they probably would have gotten away with it just as Ohio State and USC have done.

You're comparing apples to oranges here brother. That's all I'm saying. One violation is not the same as another.